Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to document usage tracking and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for enabling targeted messages based on usage of a document accessed within an Internet browser.
Description of the Related Art
An Internet cookie is a text file created by a website server when a user accesses a page on a website. The Internet cookie is stored on a user's computer, and is sent from the user's computer to the website server each time the user's browser requests a page from the website server. Internet cookies provide websites and online advertisers with information about a website user, such as user behavior while interacting with a webpage within a browser. Online advertisers use the cookies to show targeted messages of products or services that may be of interest to the user based on the user's prior interactions with the webpage.
Although information may be gathered about a user's interactions with a webpage, when a document is viewed within a browser, user behavior based on interaction with the viewed document cannot be tracked. For example, conventional Internet cookies tracking webpage user interactions are incapable of tracking user behavior within a Portable Document Format (PDF) document associated with, for example, ADOBE® READER®, while the PDF document is accessed within a browser. Being unable to track such user interaction represents a lost marketing opportunity for online advertisers.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus for enabling targeted messages based on usage of a document accessed within an Internet browser.